Two Coffee Tables, One Room
I own five coffee tables. Not in one room, to be clear, I’m not running a furniture showroom out of a one bedroom in Somerville, but five, spread across a…
A Sideboard in the Living Room
I counted it once, out of pure boredom during a work call I wasn’t paying attention to. Nine times. That’s how many times I opened the sideboard in my living…
A Topper on a Sofa Bed: The Cheap Comfort Fix
I bought my first sofa bed in 1979, the year my husband and I moved into the house I still live in now, and for a solid decade I operated…
Reclining Sofa Meets Coffee Table
My brother Danny stopped in the doorway of my living room in March, looked at the eighteen inches between my coffee table and my sofa, and said, “Priya, is this…
Ottoman Plus Coffee Table: One Too Many?
I was on my knees in the living room with a tape measure and a granola bar my daughter had abandoned halfway through, trying to figure out why every time…
A Chandelier in the Living Room
I put a chandelier in my first condo before I owned a single piece of real furniture, which tells you everything about my priorities and also nothing about my judgment,…
A Floating TV Stand, Meet the Floor
I own six floating TV stands. Not six television sets, not six living rooms that need filling, six actual console units built or marketed under that particular name, and three…
Washing Couch Cushion Covers Without Shrinking Them
I ruined a cushion cover so badly that my wife walked into the living room, looked at the couch, and said “did we get a cat that likes to nest…
Nesting Tables: Sizing Them Around Your Sofa
I’ve measured the arm of my sofa eleven times since March. I know that because I started keeping a tally on a sticky note stuck to the fridge, next to…
Sofa Beds: Two Jobs Done Well or Badly?
I’m on my knees on the floor of what my mortgage paperwork optimistically calls a “second bedroom,” measuring the gap between the window and the closet door with a tape…